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There are five official graduation dates each year that are published on transcripts and diplomas to indicate the day on which graduation requirements have been completed. These dates are August 31, December 31, January 31 (for fall term student teachers), the date of the graduation ceremony in May, and June 15 (for spring term student teachers).
It is the responsibility of the student to notify the Office of the Registrar of his/her intention to graduate by filling out and submitting an Application for Graduation no more than one year prior to the student’s intended graduation date. The application should be made only if the student has completed a minimum of 75 semester hours. Application forms are available on my.lakeland.edu or in the Office of the Registrar.
Once the form is received in the Office of Registrar, the student will receive written notification of all remaining degree requirements. Should graduation plans change, the student must inform the Office of the Registrar immediately. Students who reach graduation eligibility without having submitted an Application for Graduation risk exclusion in the graduation ceremony. Such a student will also be responsible for any fees incurred if adjustments must be made to the information on his/her diploma, i.e., a change in graduation date, or a revision in the representation of his/her name.
Application for Graduation is the official request for degree conferral by the Office of the Registrar. Participation in the commencement ceremony is completed via a separate reservation process on the Lakeland University web site. Registration and academic attire orders are placed via a commencement page on the Lakeland University website and launches in early March of each year. Students should check their Lakeland University email and check the web site to determine the deadline date to register and order attire.
Financial or Record Holds:
- Lakeland requires students to complete all financial obligations to the university, including the payment of all fines, prior to conferring a degree and issuing a diploma.
- Students who have not met their financial obligations by their proposed date of graduation will receive their diplomas and requested transcripts when satisfactory arrangements for financial obligations have been completed.
- Outstanding transcripts from other institutions which contribute to the completion of degree requirements should be in the Office of the Registrar at least two months before the official date of graduation. If such transcripts are late in arriving, final granting of the diploma will be delayed until all transcripts have been received and processed.
Undergraduate Honors:
- Determination of Honors regalia is made on the basis of the cumulative GPA for all coursework completed by the final day of the fall term and may include the entered or in-progress semester hour calculation of the individual student.
- Official University academic honors citations are computed once all courses are completed and grades entered.
- Honors designation may be newly awarded or rescinded for any student, once the final academic record assessment is made.
- Official honors designations are recorded on the permanent academic transcript and diploma.
- Associate Degree and Graduate Studies students are not eligible for honors.
- Please refer to the Academic Standing section of this catalog for further information regarding the standards for honors.
Diplomas:
- Diplomas are issued to graduates six to eight weeks after the term in which all graduation requirements are completed and financial obligations to the university have been met.
- The graduate will not receive a second degree or diploma if the degree designation of the second program is the same as that of the first. The new major (and/or minor) will appear on the graduate’s transcript as an additional major (and/or minor).
- The graduate will only receive a second degree and another diploma if the student completes at least 30 additional semester hours and the second program is assigned to a degree designation that differs from the prior degree (B.A., B.F.A., B.S. or B.S.N.).
Commencement Ceremony:
- Eligible students are encouraged to attend the May commencement ceremony to celebrate accomplishments and receive a diploma folder.
- A Lakeland University graduate returning under the Program for Alumni Career Enhancement (PACE) will not be eligible to participate in commencement.
- Undergraduates may participate in the ceremony when earning their first associate or bachelor’s degree.
- Any prior Lakeland University undergraduate returning for a second bachelor’s degree will not be eligible to participate in commencement.
- Master’s degree candidates may participate for each master’s degree earned.
- Any Lakeland University graduate returning for another concentration in their previously earned graduate degree will not be eligible to participate in commencement.
Transcripts noting the completion of degree and honors awarded will be available within one month after all graduation requirements have been completed.
All appeals for exceptions should be made to the Office of the Registrar.
Graduation eligibility for the August, December, January, May or June dates is contingent upon completion of all graduation requirements with passing grades by August 31, December 31, January 31, or June 15, respectively.
The 2020-2021 commencement ceremony is scheduled for May 1, 2021. Students who have completed all degree requirements by December 31, 2020; January 31, 2021; May 1, 2021; June 15, 2021; or are registered for their final 12 or fewer credits for the Summer 2021 term may participate in the May 2021 ceremony. To be eligible to participate in the May ceremony, students must have completed or be currently enrolled in all courses required for the completion of the degree. Students who are enrolled in Lakeland spring term courses that will complete all graduation requirements are eligible to participate in the May ceremony, even if those courses conclude after the date of the ceremony. Therefore, students enrolled in spring term internships will be eligible for participation in the May ceremony if the conclusion of the internship will mark the completion of all degree requirements. Students with 13 or more credits remaining who register for all of those credits for the Summer 2021 term will be eligible to participate in the May 2022 commencement ceremony.
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